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If Jon Jones hoped any pre-fight trash talk would get under Dominick Reyes’ skin, “The Devastator” says it isn’t working.
Top light heavyweight contender Dominick Reyes said Jon Jones’ pre-fight trash-talk won’t help him ahead of their title fight at UFC 247 in February.
The undefeated Reyes (12-0) has worked his way up to a title shot at 205-pounds after winning six straight UFC fights. Decision wins over Ovince Saint Preux and Volkan Oezdemir meant Reyes found himself in the upper echelon of the division, and a recent KO win against Chris Weidman was enough for the UFC to grant him the best shot at Jones.
With both men engaging in some trash talk over social media before they face off in Houston next year, Reyes thinks Jones’ trash talk is quite childish.
“His trash talk is brother trash talk,” Reyes told Submission Radio. “I have brothers, he has brothers. It’s when you have a bunch of brothers and you guys are all around and it’s competition there constantly, it’s little jabs, it’s little shots about their biggest insecurities just to mess with them and get them mad, and then they do something and you’re like, ‘Mum!’. It’s the same thing, he’s like a little kid. It’s the exact same like trash talking. It’s kind of childish.” (Transcription via MMA Mania)
Though many consider him undefeated, Jones (25-1, 1NC) hasn’t lost a fight in over a decade, and since winning back his light heavyweight title last year, he has defended it twice in 2019 with decision wins against Anthony Smith and Thiago Santos. Reyes continued by saying Jones’ tank won’t help him; and no matter what he says before the fight, it won’t affect his approach at all.
“I don’t give a f-ck what that guy says to me,” Reyes continued. “I don’t care at all what he says to me. Like, bro, you can say whatever you want. Say whatever you want. It’s not gonna help you. It’s not gonna save you. It’s not gonna make me not want to knock you out. It’s not gonna try to make me knock you out more. Like, I’m not dumb. You’re not just gonna [run in] arrghha and then catch [me]. Like, come on man, I thought we were professionals. Let’s go.”
Reyes isn’t shy on confidence, recently stating he is already looking forward to the rematch with Jones after he plans to become the new light heavyweight champ at UFC 247.